Intersectionality: How Does Abuse Vary?

25% of young women have been sexually harassed online, compared to 13% of young men

26% of young women report being cyber-stalked

7% of young men report being cyber-stalked

32% of Asians, 32% of Hispanic, 28% of Blacks and 23% of Caucasians report online harassment[14]

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens experience almost three times as much bullying and harassment online as their straight and cisgender peers.[15] Forty-two percent of LGBTQ youth report being bullied or harassed online versus 15% of non-LGTB peers[16]

48% report being stalked or persistently harassed by people who had seen the non-consensual pornography shared

27% of LGTBQ youth report not feeling safe online, 30% report not feeling safe at school and 29% while traveling to and from school

Researchers at the UK based research institute Demos found that between December 2013 and February 2014 there were 100,000 instances of the word ‘rape’ used by UK-based Twitter accounts. They estimated that 12 per cent were threatening. On Twitter, women, and men both use gendered slur ‘slut’ and ‘whore’ in casual and derogatory ways. During the same two-month period, researchers found 131,000 instances of ‘slut’ and ‘whore,’ approximately 18% of them misogynistic. Researchers concluded that the use of “rape,” “slut,” and “whore” were instances of normalized, “casual misogyny.” The words “bitch” and “cunt” were not measured.[24]

Stalking and Harassment

One in 6 women and one in 19 men are stalked during their lifetimes. Less conservative estimates that define stalking as a reflection of fear felt by targets makes those numbers 1 in 4 women and one in 13 men.[26]

46% of stalking victims experience at least one unwanted contact per week

25% of stalking victims report cyber stalking, for example, 83% get e-mails from their stalkers

11% of victims are stalked for 5 years or more

Almost 75% of stalking victims know their stalkers

A study of abused women in the UK found that 41% say partners or ex-partners tracked them using online and mobile apps[27]

85% of the shelters surveyed report victims whose abusers tracked them using GPS and hidden apps[28]

Impact on Users

Women are two times more likely than men to find harassment “extremely upsetting,” and 2.5X more likely to say it is “very upsetting.”

Thirty-seven percent of people who are stalked, sexually harassed or abused for a sustained period of time report being “extremely” or “very” upsetting, twice the rate as those whoonly experienced name-calling or embarrassment. [29]

Men are almost three times as likely to find harassment “Not at all upsetting.” [30]

More than 80% of people who had experienced name-balling or embarrassment meant to embarrass said they suffered no reputational harm, compared to almost a third of those who had experienced sustained harassment, physical threats or sexual harassment.[31]

Two-thirds of stalkers make harassing or threatening contact with their victims at least once per week the vast majority (78%) use more than one means of approach. In 20% of cases, they use weapons.

29% of people who report harassment say they felt “scared for my life.”

20% of people who report harassment say they were “scared to leave my house.”

20% of people who report harassment say they feared negative impacts on their professional lives.

23.3% of women surveyed said that they were blamed for the online abuse[32]

Researchers have found that for female victims of nonconsensual sexting and coercion, the effects are possibly more traumatic than for traditional forms of partner aggression.

Sixty-seven percent of people who have experienced stalking, physical threats, sustained or sexual harassment takes multiple steps to protect themselves compared to those who experience name-calling and embarrassment (30%).[33]

10% of people reporting abuse withdrew from the online forum where it took place[34]

8% of people reporting abuse altered their offline behavior by not attending certain events or going to certain places[35]

69.8% of women journalists report that the organizations they work for do not provide any measures to protect employee’s personal security[36]

The Benefits of Online Engagement

50% reported having at least one close online friend, compared to only 19% of non-LGBT peers

Two-thirds of LGBT youth (62%) had used the Internet to connect with other LGBT people in the past year. More than 1 in 10 LGBT youth (14%) said that they had first disclosed their LGBT identity to someone online